The Bulldogs overcame a rollercoaster year and secured the third seed alongside home-court advantage for the GLIAC tournament.
A season removed from their NCAA DII National Semifinals run, women’s basketball can earn another Midwest Regional Tournament bid with success in the conference tournament.
After securing home-court advantage, senior guard Kenzie Bowers knows the fans will make a difference in this upcoming game.
“It is such a great feeling having home-court advantage,” Bowers said. “We have the absolute best fans in the GLIAC and there is nothing like playing on your own home court. We know our court, hoops and rims better than anyone in the world, so with that and our excellent fans I am excited for that advantage in this game.”
With the bracket finalized, the Bulldogs (19-10, 13-7 in GLIAC) are set to host the six-seeded Roosevelt Lakers (12-14, 10-10 in GLIAC). When the two teams last faced off, the Bulldogs lost to the Lakers by a score of 83-73 on Feb. 3 but took home a win against the Lakers earlier in the year.
Junior forward Mya Hiram is thrilled to get another chance at Roosevelt after dropping a game against them.
“I know myself personally, I am excited to get another crack at Roosevelt,” Hiram said. “We split the season series against them, and they are a rising team this season in the GLIAC, so I am quite excited to get the chance to play them again.”
This season was full of highs and lows for Ferris. The Bulldogs won seven of their first 10 games to start the season, and some athletes set career highs like Mia Riley posting 33 points against Purdue Northwest. However, Ferris saw senior guard Kadyn Blanchard suffer a season-ending injury midway through the year while leading the team in scoring.
The Bulldogs will be heading into the tournament on somewhat of a low note, finishing the final 10 games of the season 5-5 while dropping the final two games of the season against Wayne State and Saginaw Valley.
Junior guard Emma Schierbeek knows the tournament will be a challenge, but the team is ready for a fight.
”I think losing our last two games has lit a fire under us,” Schierbeek said. “Now we understand that it’s win or go home. So, we need to have a lot of energy going into Wednesday to win and hopefully carry that energy into every game we get.”
The Bulldog’s scoring stems from a balanced attack. This includes junior guard Mia Riley, who is top five in points per game in the GLIAC, averaging 14.5, while accumulating 3.2 assists, six rebounds and three steals per game. Meanwhile, Bowers averages 11 points per game, with a team-leading 6.4 rebounds and two steals per game.
If the Bulldogs want a chance to defeat the Lakers, they will have to stifle one of the best players in the GLIAC, the senior guard Luka Malinka. The Denmark native sits in second place in the GLIAC for points per game with 15.4, but the Bulldogs have been able to shut her down previously.
In their first matchup, Ferris made Malinka shoot 0-8, with her lone two points coming from free throws, with Ferris coming out on top. However, in the second game, she shot 9-15 with six three-pointers and totaled 27 points in the Bulldogs loss.
The Bulldogs are set to face off against the Lakers in the first round of the GLIAC tournament at Jim Wink Arena on Wednesday, March 5. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.